Children’s advocates raise questions about Amazon’s Echo Dot for kids

Democracy Dies in Darkness Sections Home Try 1 month for $1 Username Sign In Account Profile Newsletters & Alerts Gift Subscriptions Contact Us Help Desk Subscribe Account Profile Newsletters & Alerts Gift Subscriptions Contact Us Help Desk Accessibility for screenreader The Switch by Hayley Tsukayama May 11 Email the author Amazon has an Echo Dot aimed at kids, as well as some new services for children. (Courtesy of Amazon) A group of children’s advocates and two lawmakers are raising questions about Amazon.com’s new Echo Dot for kids, which was announced last month. The advocates led by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood said Friday that the presence of voice-activated speakers on children’s nightstands is an unwelcome novelty that could prove intrusive or potentially disruptive to their development. “AI devices raise a host of privacy concerns and interfere with the face-to-face interactions and self-driven play that children need to thrive,” CCFC Executive Director Josh Golin said in a statement. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.) While the group is not suggesting Amazon’s new product violates privacy law — an accusation it has leveled at other tech giants such as Google — its campaign wades into the murkier debate of how parents should evaluate their children’s interaction with speakers. Research into that effect is inconclusive. But consumers — grappling with how to deal with kids who speak to voice assistants before they can walk or waste hours in front of screens — are demanding that technology firms design products that address… [Read full story]